Greetings, I am going back to school after many years off. I work full-time at an advertising agency and I'm considering getting a second master's or possibly a doctorate with an emphasis in marketing. While I would love go to a standard university, because of time limitations, I must do this online. I have looked at many of the well known online institutions; TESC, Nova, Capella, Walden, Northcentral and some others and I'm leaning towards Northcentral University because it's a little less expensive and it requires no residencies. In lurking this board, I notice there are a few that are associated with this school and I have heard only minor negatives. I thought I might retire from my agency job someday, use my experience and teach business and marketing. Should I avoid NCU? Is Capella or Walden better? If I ever decide to teach, would I regret a degree from NCU? I already understand that a tenure track teaching position is not likely with a degree earned online and that's not my goal anyway. Please Note: I don't know what the etiquette on a board like this is. If you don't want to criticize NCU publicly on this board, can you send me a private message? Thanks, Dale
I am in the NCU program and it is not easy (as I am sure none of the PhD programs are). I like NCU for teh same reasons you do - price and 100% online. I don't think NCU is better or worst then others like Capella. If I had it to do all over again - I would make the same choice unless mopney was not an object. Then I would have gone with Nova. By the way, I also teach online as an adjunct for 3 schools.
I like NCU and I recommend it. But I have no idea if an administrator looking for an adjunct would prefer someone from Capella or Walden. Randell, you are in the adjunct world, do you think someone from NCU would lose a job to someone from Capella? I would guess that it would be equal, but I'm just a beginner at all of this.
I need to say something here and I don't want DegreeDazed to think it's about him. It's not. It's about a lot of people who come to this board asking a question: How do I get where I want to go? They give a scant amount of info about themselves and their situation and then they ask the question: Which school? If you choose school A and you don't get the job then you're going to say (forever) "School A was a bad choice." If you choose school A and you get the job then school A becomes the best thing since sliced bread. The degree may get you an interview. Maybe. If you don't get the interview then it's probably not the degree. It's your experience, your crapy cover letter, or maybe the hiring manager just had a bad day and tossed your resume into the circular file. To think that you might not get a job because your Regionally Accredited doctoral degree came from school A instead of school B is WAAAY overthinking it. Do you know who'll be reading your resume? Maybe he too has a degree from school A. Or school B. Or maybe he's intimidated that you have a PhD at all. From anywhere. Because he's a moron and is only in that job because he's the son-in-law of somebody who's got some juice. There are many factors in play when it comes to hiring/being hired. When it comes to DL doctoral degrees in Business, there is NO DATA. NONE. No one can tell you, with any reliability, that one school will lead to success while another won't. You have unrealistic expectations in regards to the question you have asked. You need, instead, to look at the various programs and make a determination as to which one works for you. YOU. Cost, concentration, delivery method, all that stuff. Then it's up to you to sell yourself, your degrees and your experience. Sorry for the rant.
That, actually, was a very good rant. All you say is so true. I think that, as long as the degree is legit, it's really up to you and the value you present to an employer, academic or business, that will get you a job. I'm sure there will be some that won't like the fact that your degree is from a particular school, but, IMO, that's secondary to the value of your experience. I'm rather counting on that fact for myself!
Maybe I wasn't clear with the question I was actually asking. I wasn't asking for career counseling. The only thing I really wanted to know was if there was some reason I should avoid Northcentral University. Sorry if I got on your nerves.
You're not on my nerves. It's just that your post represents many others that we get here. I wouldn't be surprised if someone disagreed with me. I could probably put together a scenario comparing two schools where one might be the clear preference over the other but, in general, I think that DL doctoral programs in Business or Education or other fields are so similar that any preference is probably purely subjective. I used to joke that you make the decision based which school has the better women's soccer team (which clearly favors the B&M school over the virtual school). There's nothing wrong with Northcentral. Be sure you know how the program is organized and the delivery method of the course material. Be sure you understand the program requirements and the timelines. This is basic advice I would give to anyone, regardless of the school they are considering.
